


The Space Between Us

by velvetlove



Category: Adventure Time
Genre: Alternate Universe - Elementary School, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Middle School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Childhood Friends, Cute, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Love, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-16
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2018-11-01 07:15:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10916967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/velvetlove/pseuds/velvetlove
Summary: As the years go byA glow can be seenThey want to connectThe space in between.





	1. Like a flower, but sweeter.

**Author's Note:**

> I came up with this story after revisiting Adventure Time for the second time. I've always loved the Bubbline ship and was inspired to start writing again.
> 
>    
> The experiences of Bonniebel and Marceline's growing relations over the course of their lives

She smiled at the only thing her vision set on. A single flower that blossomed fire red, standing out from the other white flowers sprinkled across the field. The grass below tickled her ankles and knees,her arms tucked in her body, fingers gently cradling small white flowers picked a while ago.

She studied the rare flower. All the other kids found her strange. What was so interesting about flowers and green grass that stretched endlessly? She didn't know herself. The flowers looked happy, and this particular flower reminded her of what she wanted to be: Bright and happy.

"I'm gonna take you home," she whispered, a wide grin on her face. "I just need the proper soil and pot for you."

She put the white flowers in her pocket and took out a small pink notebook and a plastic multi- colored pen, flipping through the tiny pages. As she sketched on the page,a shadow appeared from behind her.

"Hey... PB."

She turned around and frowned. It was a group of three again. Mary and her friends.

"What are you even doing?"

"I don't have to tell you," she said, watching as Mary walked in front of her. "I don't have to share."

"Whatever. Mrs.Maple told us to tell you we're going in soon. Ya know... since you're always out here in the field by yourself."

The two boys snickered behind her.

"What's so funny?"

"You're such a ditz. You'l never understand."

Mary stepped forward and with her boot she stepped on the flower. PB gasped.

"Hey! No stepping on the flower!" She said pushing her boot away, as Mary grinded it into the dirt.

"Ew! Don't touch me!"

She shoved her boot up and PB fell backwards, dropping her notebook and pen into the grass.

"You stupid! You could've messed up my boots!"

"Whatever! Let's go!" one of the boys said .

"You killed the flower!"

The girl ignored her.

"Leave me alone or I'll tell Mrs.Maple!"

The boys mocked her and Mary laughed, the three walking away to the playground.

"What a weirdo!"

PB's face tinted red with anger. She turned back to the flower. The dead flower. Snapped in two and pushed into the dirt.

She sat there frozen. The bell rang from the brick building, signaling it was time to go back inside. She grabbed her notebook and pen ,dusting her skirt of the dirt stains she knew wouldn't come off. Opening her notebook she scribbled out the drawing and walked towards the school building. Some days were lonely. No one to stay and be happy.

As the kids entered the school building, a shadow of a small figure stood above the flower and stepped over it with small feet. The flower came together, slowly standing up ,and proceeded to show it's radiance once again .

 

* * *

The bus ride home was as usual. She was used to the other kids who screamed on the bus, chatting away. Some girls boasted their play jewelry, the boys pulled each others hair and dueled Yugi-Oh cards. Some sang in the back of the bus, screaming. Lily was PB's only friend ,and the two entertained themselves by listening to their favorite music and planning out which celebrity they were going to marry; Something PB wasn't very interested in, but found to enjoy it from her boy-crazy friend.

"And at our wedding, we're going to have a unicorn!" Lily exclaimed, as they stepped off the crowded yellow school bus.

"That be so cool! My brother says unicorns don't exist." PB replied, fixing her backpack.

Lily skipping infront of her, turning around to face PB, walking backwards."Your brother is crazy! They are real. Oh! I know ! We should go unicorn hunting!" She stopped walking. "Then, we can ask the unicorns to go to my wedding!"

"Okay. Let's do it," PB said, half smiling. "I'm not sure if they exist where we live though."

"We can still try!" Lily said. "I know they're rare but I still wanna. "

"Yeah."

Lily noticed PB's frown. "PB...I'm sorry your flower got smashed."

"I was gonna take that flower home too!" PB yelled up to the sky, her first balled up. "They always think they're better than me!"

"If I had your same class and recess as you, I would beat them up!" Lily said, throwing a punch to emphasize her point.

PB forced a smile."Thanks." 

They walked until they got to PB's house.

"I'll see you tomorrow PB! Mom's making hamburgers for dinner!" Lily said,  running across the street.

"Bye! Tell your mom I said hi!" 

"I will! You should over for dinner sometime!"

PB watched as Lily ran across the street and down the side walk. She waved to her once again before disappearing around the corner. PB looked down at her skirt, her thumb pressing against the denim fabric. Her mom knew she liked being in dirt. Maybe from now on, she wouldn't get questioned as much. 

 

 "Hi sweetie! How was your day?"

"It was good." PB said, taking her shoes off.

Her mom smiled, entering the living room from the kitchen. "I bought strawberries today from the farmers market. I put some on the counter for you."

PB face brightened up. "Thank you mommy!"

She raced up stairs, their house cat Rocky lifted his head in response to the commotion of feet running across the floor, and followed suit.

"Hi rocky!" 

Throwing her backpack in her room, she changed into her afternoon clothes and raced back downstairs sliding across the wooden floor, Rocky bracing himself along the ride.

"No running Bubble head!"

Her brother sat in the dining room , playing on his D.S. She wished she was in middle school too, so she could get out of class sooner.

"I'm not a bubble head."

"I know I know," he said, watching her walk into the kitchen. She put the cat down and  grabbed the dish soap, washing her hands.

"You got dirt on your skirt."

"I know." she said.

"Are they still bothering you?"

PB dryer her hands off , silently, then answered. "Kind of."

"Let me know if things get bad," he said , not taking his eyes off the screen. "Punks like them just don't know when to quit, do they?"

"I will." she said, grabbing a paper towel and placing it on the dining room table. She proceeded to grab a handful of strawberries. "Is mommy still working?"

"Yep."

She shoved a strawberry in her mouth. She was different from her brother. Besides the fact that he had light freckles, he also had natural red hair, Pb's was many shades lighter, taking the characteristics of her least favorite color: dark pink. He also made friends easily, which she envied. With two hands she grabbed the paper towel holding the strawberries and made her way outside the back door into the backyard.

The back yard didn't have much. She stepped onto the deck, and made her way down the stairs, her sneakers treading across the grass, passing the plum tree. She turned the backyard gate handle with a little bit of force, opening it and closing it back, making her way to the neighborhood play ground on the hill .

The playground didn't have any kids on it .That was a bit strange , but it made her all the more happy to be there. She could swing on the swings or sit in the grass without being disturbed. 

She made her way past the playground, the mulch crunching under her, and finally got to the grassy area where a flower bush was. She sat down, putting the strawberries beside her and pulled out her notebook. Shoving another strawberry in her mouth, she flipped through her notebook once again, going to the scribbled out flower doodle. The sweet strawberry turned sour in her mouth. 

"Now I'll have to look for another flower."

She already did the flowers around the neighborhood , doodling them, sometimes putting them on her window seal. And she didn't really feel like hunting ladybugs or swinging on a tire swing .

PB sighed, putting her notebook down and just as she reached for another strawberry a rustle came from the flower bush. She froze, slowly scooting away from the bush, and stood up. Maybe it was a squirrel.

She started at the bush, waiting for it to rustle again. Nothing.

Turning back to grab her notebook, she looked back again to see a small, dark blue creature with big maroon eyes. She screamed, her shoe hitting a small rock in the dirt and tumbled back onto her tailbone .

The creature stared at her. She looked at it and realized it was a vampire bat.

"Oh..I'm sorry. Didn't realize you are a bat." 

The creature's ear twitched, sniffing .

"Hello." she said.

The bat tumbled closer, and she quickly sat up.

"Uh..." she scooter back as it walked closer. It stopped ." I'm sorry."

The bat titled it's head and waddled closer. She forced herself to stay still. She wasn't sure if it would bite her or not. The bat eyed the strawberries and sniffed again.

"Oh... are you hungry?" Pb asked, eyeing the fruit then back at the creature. The bats ears stood up excited.

"You want some?"

She grabbed a strawberry and outstretched her hand, getting down on her bare knees. The bat sniffed the strawberry , stare at it , then quickly snatched it, nibbling quietly.

"Are you new around here?" 

The bat didn't answer, focusing on it's mission to finish the treat it was rewarded.

"You want another one?"

She handed her last strawberry and the bat took it. With a small flash of an instant the bat disappears and turned into a human. PB gasped, eyes widened.

The bat wasn't a bat anymore. It turned into a girl. She wore overalls and had short pixie cut black hair. Her sneakers were white.

Pb watched as the girl shoved the strawberry into her mouth. She smiled.

"Thanks for feeding me! I was suuupperrr hungry!"

PB blinked. "I didn't know you could turn human."

"Oh yeah, it's rare for vampires to have bat forms. That thing right?" The girl said, snickering. She had a bandaid on her cheek.

PB was silent as the girl brushed her overall pants off. She had a feminine, but rough look to her. They made eye contact in silence. PB blinked confused.

"Uh..."

"You're cute."

PB eyes widened from the response. "W-what?"

"You heard me. I know you did," the girl said, a wide grin on her face. "What's your name?"

"Wait.. did you move around here?"

"Yeah. Over there." the girl said, pointing across the playground. It was the same street PB's house was located.

"Down the hill?"

"Yeah,there." the girl said, smiling ."So....name?"

"Uh.. it's Bonniebel. But everyone calls me PB."

"PB? Like peanut butter and jelly?"

PB frowned.

"I'm just joking. It's a cool name...Bonniebel."

The girl stood up, offering her hand out to PB. PB took it and stood on her feet .

"What's yours?"

"Marceline."

"Never heard of that name. It's a nice name."

"Thanks."

"So uh... where'd you move from?"

"Washington State. Up top. You know, where the mountains are?"

"Ooh."

Marceline looked down at the notebook.

"Is that yours?"

PB picked up her notebook. "Yeah it is."

"What's in it?"

"My doodles."

"Can I see?"

PB looked at her, wondering if she should show a stranger her things. "Sure."

She flipped to a page that showed a past drawing of a plant.

"Whoah! Those are good."

"Thanks."

"I had a ton of flowers were I used to live. Mostly orchids."

"Oh."

"One of them reminds me of you."

PB gave her a questioning look.

"Cause your hair is pink. You're like a flower."

"That's kinda like something a boy would say." PB said, waking toward the playground .

"Huh,Really?"

Marceline curiously followed after PB, ducking under the playground bridge behind her.

"What grade are you in?" PB asked.

"Third grade."

"Me too."

"I start school in two days mom says." Marceline said, standing on the swing.

"Which school?"

"Wood stone elementary."

"Oh! That's where I go!"

"Cool! I went to the school earlier today. Maybe we can go to school together from now on."

"Yeah. I can walk you to your homeroom."

"That's very nice of you." Marceline said , swinging high.

Pb looked up at the evening sky. "I have to go home soon."

"Oh." Marceline stopped swinging. "I guess I'll see you around?"

PB stared at Marceline, then had a rush of excitement hit her.

"We can see each other tomorrow! At the same exact time."

Marceline blinked, slightly surprised from the sudden request. She smiled and answered,"Yeah!"

The two walked back to the neighborhood street. They stopped where PB's backyard gate was.

"Um...If you ever walk by, you can come over. I'll come to the playground tomorrow." PB said, staring at the ground. 

"I'm glad I met a new friend." Marceline said.

Pb looked up, the green eyes that were once maroon staring at her with wonder.

"Me too."

They stood still for a moment, looking around. The birds glided across the sky, and a car passed by, leaving them in silence once more. PB turned towards the gate, unlocking it.

"See ya Bonniebel!

"See you--"

PB looked around her. Marceline disappeared so suddenly. She smiled to herself, closing the gate behind her. "She's weird, but nice."

 

Marceline smiled to herself ,walking down the side walk to her house, thinking of the flower she saw earlier that day. Her favorite color was red.

"She really is like a flower.. but sweeter."

 

 

 

 


	2. I won't ever hurt you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is part two of part one (elementary school era).

Marceline describe her first day as very strange. All eyes glued to her presence from the moment she walked into class. She seemed to get along with everyone pretty well and was indeed the life of the party. She was smart, could get along with everyone, and even made friends with the boys in her class. That left some girls jealous, saying she was too boyish and rough, but PB knew she didn't care. She was a fierce girl, a natural born leader.

The two sat on a bench next to the building outside, under the shade of a tree, the school blacktop in front of them. It’s been a full week since Marceline moved into the neighborhood and attended school, and the weather today was sunny and hot.

"You really must like strawberries." PB said, watching Marceline nibble on the fresh strawberry happily.

"Strawberries are my favorite.” she replied. He fangs sank into the fruit, the juice coming out. PB watched, shocked as the strawberry began to lose color, the color fading from bright red to gray from top to bottom.

“Oh…whoops.” Marceline said, looking at the strawberry.

“Fascinating.” PB said, staring at the strawberry. “How did you do that?”

Marceline laughed at her friend’s reaction, popping the strawberry into her mouth. “It happens randomly sometimes and I can’t control it,” She explained. “Mom says it’s something called puberty.” 

She adjusted the large yellow hat on her head. "You know, I know we ride the bus together and you live close to me, but I rarely see you in the halls. We don't have lunch together."

"But we see each other at recess. And during P.E." PB said.

"I hate P.E." Marceline said, her hands behind her on the bench, her legs crossed.

"I think it's fun."

"You didn’t seem like the sporty type to me.”

“Yeah no one really does.” PB said.

Marceline titled her head to the side, looking at PB. Breaking the silence, she asked, “Where are the rest of your friends?”

PB looked at her, Marceline patiently waiting for an answer.

“Besides Lily and you, no one else. Seems everyone doesn't like me.”

“What? I find that hard to believe.”

A basketball rolled towards the bench next to PB’s sandals. She looked up to see a group of boys look towards them, one boy running up to them.

“Hey! Sorry about that … hey Marceline.”

“Sup Trey.”

Trey looked at PB grab the ball, and look back up.

“Hey PB. Haven’t seen you on the black top in a while.”

“Oh. Yeah.” She handed Trey the basketball.

“How are you?”

PB blinked surprised at his question. “I-I’m good. Um… good luck with your game.”

“We’re not doing a game today, were just free shooting. Thanks though.” He replied. He turned to Marceline. “Later Marceline.”

“Bye.”

Marceline flicked a quick wave, watching as Trey ran back to his group of friends, handing the ball to another boy. Then back at PB.

“Do you have a crush on him?”

“Huh?!”

She didn’t want her reaction so dramatic. She looked away, embarrassed. Marceline smiled.

“You are too cute.”

PB felt her face burn. She became frustrated and covered her cheeks. Marceline laughed, patting the top of her head.

 

* * *

 

 

She closed her eyes, tired from staring out the classroom window, her hand on her chin. The teacher wrote down things on the chalkboard that she drifted away from a couple of minutes in the lesson, and she could hear some of the kids in her classroom goof off in their own whispered conversations.

“Ma’am, may I use the restroom?”

“Of course, take the pass when you go.”

Marceline stood up, walking over to grab the pass and walked put the classroom. Of course she didn’t need to use the rest room. She was just going to wander the halls for a bit. Lesson seven that was being taught in class she already learned in her past school.

She casually strolled around the halls, her hands behind her head. She swung the pencil-shaped hall pass, passing by a long hallway bulletin board encouraging students to read more with butter flies on the blue paper and pictures of books on stems that were to represent the flower petals. Other classrooms had decorations on their doors. On this side of the school no one was waking the white tiled halls. Making sure no one was looking, she put the hall pass around her neck and turned into a bat, scurrying across the floor to the other halls.

Passing the bathroom, she peeked around a corner to see a class walking in a single file line. Her ear twitched, and she flew quickly to the other side, close to where the school cafeteria was.

 _“I’ll just peak in this hall and head back class.”_ she thought, not wanting to get caught.

The loud, sharp noise of something falling to the ground make her jump, tripping over the hall pass and rolling across the floor, hitting a wall.

“Ow…!”

She got back on her tiny feet, shaking her fluffy body out, deciding to check out the commotion. She heard a couple of voices, then silence. Peaking around the corner, her ears stood straight up.

PB stood next to the wall. In front of her was a lunch tray, and food scattered everywhere. Milk, a sandwich, and what seemed to look like peaches and something else she couldn’t make up. She watched as she bent down, her knees tucked into her body as she scrapped the food up with her hands.

Marceline flew over.

“Bonnie!”

The pink- haired girl looked up, her eyes coming in contact with Marceline’s.

“Marceline? What are you doing here?”

“What happened? Your food is everywhere!”

“Oh…nothing I just tripped.”

Marceline turned back and picked up the chocolate milk carton. PB kept scrapping up the food, her hand shaking.

“Something else happened didn’t it?”

“No I told you I just tripped over my food.”

Marceline squinted, suspicious of her tone. “You must be very clumsy.”

“Yeah.”

When she finished helping her, they both stood up.

“Well I should get back to class so no one’s suspicious. Did lunch just start for you?”

“Yeah.”

Marceline frowned. “At recess I’ll give you some chips and a drink.”

“Oh. Thanks Marcy, you’re the best.”

“Marcy?” Marceline said. “That sounds nice.”

PB chuckled, slightly embarrassed. “You should get going.”

Marceline smiled. “Yeah. See you at Recess!”

Marceline and her parted ways. She stood to look at PB disappear around the corner. Her smile disappeared.

 

* * *

 

There were many times PB felt jealous. She would watch as Marceline happily chatted with the other kids without a care in the world. PB heard from the other girls that her personality was weird;Too quiet and cold, and that freaked them out. Marceline seemed to be the only one to read her so well. It both bothered yet intrigued her. Was she really an open book? She would smile no matter how down she was. Marceline seemed to love her smiles and reactions.

Trey made an attempt to talk to her more since Marceline came. Two new people that brightened her mood along with Lily, who found Marceline’s energy and enthusiasm to match well with hers. But the more she talked to Trey, it seemed the more Mary bothered her.

She walked past Mary in the library, knowing she bumped into her on purpose.

“Watch where you’re going.” Mary hissed.

“Im not the one who decided to walk to close to someone else.” PB said, carrying two books in her hand.

“Watch it PB. Know your place.”

PB felt a wave of anger sweep over her and she turned around. “Why don’t you watch it? What place? You’re no better than a piece of gum stuck under a table!”

Mary’s eyes widened, then shifted to a glare that pierced through walls. “You’ll regret saying that.”

PB turned around walking away from her to find a spot to sit somewhere, calming her pounding heart. Alone.

She found a corner near the reading area and sat on a bean bag. After reading one page, she saw to shoes standing in front of her.

“Uh, hey PB.”

PB looked up, her heart thumped. Trey looked down at her.

“You mind if I get a book off the shelf?”

“Oh! No! Not at all!”

PB moved her stuff over and Trey thanked her, searching for the book he wanted. He found it and moved over.

“You can move back. Sorry to bug you.”

“It’s okay.”

PB sat back down and opened her book again.

“I didn’t know you liked that series.”

Pb looked back up at him, then at the book. “Oh… this? Uh, yeah it’s cool.”

“Can I sit next to you?”

PB nodded her head, too nervous to speak. He sat down next to her and they began to talk. PB rarely got to have such a fun conversation with anyone in her class. And she never would’ve thought it be Trey of all people. In the middle of their conversation he said “You’re nice to talk to.”

“I…I am?”

“Yeah. You’re pretty cool.”

“Oh… thanks.”

Their conversation lasted for another minute. His classes library hour was over. They waved bye, and PB was left by herself again. She grinned, reading her book again. But she couldn’t, so she decided to sit and look around the library, smiling to herself.

 

Marceline was assigned to walk the attendance sheet to the front office. What a boring thing to do. Her classmates fought everyday over it too.

She saw Mary walk out the library, arms folded with a friend of hers talking. Marceline immediately thought of what happened yesterday. She heard her talking to her friend’s about PB. Something about how the other day she heard about PB dropping her food in the halls and laughing. And how she was the weirdest person she’s ever met.

She walked by her casually, not minding her, when a certain line drifted in the air as they passed by each other.

“Her tray…I should’ve dumped that chocolate milk on her instead.”

Marceline stopped walking, the two girls walking past her. She turned her head around quickly. She knew something was wrong.

 

 

She arrived at recess late with some friends in her class that got to lunch later on. She waved to them, saying she would join them later. She wanted to check on a certain someone.

Walking across the blacktop, she looked around, then went behind a tree that stood close to the brick building. She turned into a bat, flying low to make sure no one saw her, and headed towards the playground.

 _“Where is PB_?” she thought. She wanted to talk to her if she could.

She made sure she went past the playground obstacles and other kids that were on it unseen and not squished.

Going under a slide she finally spotted PB at the edge of the playground, towards the field. She watched her get off the unoccupied merry go round and head for the field.

She breathed a sigh of relief. No one was bothering her today. Yesterday no one bothered them either at recess. Unless that meant that no one bothered her because she wasn’t alone.

Marceline’s relief was short when she noticed Mary and her group of friends walk past the playground, headed for PB.

“This can’t be good.”

Marceline turned back into her human form as was confronted by her friends again.

“Where’s PB? Isn’t she with you?” one of them asked.

“No she’s not. I have to take care of something so I’ll see you guys later.”

 

"Leave me alone!"

One boy raised fist in the air and she flinched.

“Look she flinched!” he laughed.

“Don’t you guys have anything else better to do!” PB yelled, her voice cracking. Mary never brought this many people with her.

Another boy reached out to push her down into the mud and she kicked him making the both of them fall down, PB landing in the mud puddle.

“I told you to watch your back PB.”

“Oh what? Cause I called you a piece of gum? You have to have all these people here!”

"Yeah! You think your better than me? And I told you to stay away from Trey!"

“Trey talked to me himself!”

Mary lifted her hand up and PB flinched.

"Hey!!"

The group of four turned around to see Marceline with a small tree branch in her hand.

"What are you doing to her!?"

"Butt out of it newbie!" Mary yelled.

"Leave her alone!” Marceline warned between her teeth, squeezing the stick in her hand harder.

"Or what?"

"Or you'll regret it!”

The boy chuckled, kicking dirt at PB.

"Hey!”

“Your ganging up on her for no reason!”

"You're just a girl! You can't handle us."

"What are you gonna do about nasty vampire?” Mary snickered. “If you tell the teacher we can just fake our way through it.”

"You shut up! I won’t hesitate to rip those ponytails out! There’s no way they’ll let this slide!”

PB stood up. She’s pushed them away multiple times and they seemed to push her back down.

“Why didn’t you say anything to me!” Marceline yelled. “That you were bullied! Im your friend Bonnie!”

“Because!”

PB pushed a boy named Henry again and he swiped his hand down, forcing PB back onto the gate, the metal slamming against her side. She fell down, her cheek burning. She touched her face and eyes widened when she felt liquid.

"You...YOURE GONNA GET IT!"

Marceline’s complete physical features changed, her teeth turning razor sharp and her tongue turning into a sharp point. Two blood red eyes replaced the green color, and her pointed ears grew bigger, her hair standing on end.

The four of them stood in fear.

"What the--"

Marceline hissed and they screamed in return, running away. She threw the stick towards them and watched as the ran back to the playground, her face turning back normal.

"PB! Are you! -"

She stumbled over to PB and the girl looked back at her eyes wide with fear and shock.

"Bonnie?"

Marceline stepped closer. PB immediately turned away from her, putting herself into a ball. She stepped closer to her, bending down. She frowned when she noticed she was shaking.

"Bonniebel?"

"Please don't hurt me."

"Huh?" Marceline frowned.

PB felt her eyes water up and tears started to fall. She put a hand on her shoulder and PB shrugged back.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

PB peeked at her, she blinked tears away.

"I won't ever hurt you. I had to scare them away. And im positive they won’t be messing with you anymore."

PB looked up at her, the red liquid running down her face.

"Your face!" She exclaimed, her eyes turning red again.

"Thank you Marcy."

She turned back to her, her eyes turning normal again.

PB's voice cracked, her head down. "Thank you. I didn’t want to worry you. So I never told you what I was going through or what was happening."

Marceline watched as she started shaking again, and watched as PB broke out into a sob, tears rolling down her face, they hurt her scar.

"I'm sorry I never payed attention enough."

She wanted to tell her it wasn’t her fault, but her body kept shaking and she couldn’t stop crying She never cried in front of anyone but her family. Marceline hugged her.

Why was she crying so much? Did it scare her that much? PB hugged her back, taking Marceline by surprise.

"Let's go back inside! Your face is bleeding.”

When they got to the playground the teachers took immediate notice and asked what was wrong. PB tucked her heard into Marceline shoulder, hearing Marceline talk to the teachers.

"Let's get you to the nurse honey." She heard a teacher say.

Marceline helped PB walk and held her hand as they walked toward the building. She squeezed Marceline hand harder as they walked into building, the other kids looking with curiosity.


	3. Look into the galaxy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter three is the middle school era , 8th grade.

The dim light from a desk lamp gave as much assistance as it could to keep two brown eyes from drifting off. The gentle hum of the fan lulled her brain into a gentle state of consciousness, the shaking of her feet struggling to keep her thinking and alert. She yawned, putting her pen down on her geometry text book and stretched her arms up into the air.

 _"It's probably too late to go get a snack."_  PB thought, leaning back in her desk chair. She turned her head to look at the cable box across the room: 11:16pm.

Great.

She had kept her grades up until this year. The troubles that came with the year included her math grade falling into the D range. Her best efforts were to study late into the night with the other subjects art and science. Science and art were for fun, but math was most important to keep her grades balanced and her stress at a minimum. 

She pushed away from the desk, rolling to the middle of her bed room, staring at the ceiling.

_"I just need to breathe…"_

The moment she leaned her head back to rest her eyes, she heard a tap on her window. She sat up, feeling dizzy from the sudden blood rush and stood up, stretching her legs as she walked toward the window. Pulling the curtains apart ,she gasped. Two green eyes and a mischevious smile greeted her.

"Marcy?"

She opened her window.

"Hey Bonniebel~" Marceline said, smoothly. She floated upside down, her legs criss-crossed and her hands on her shin.

"What are you doing here so late?"

"The night air feels crisp."

"Right, it is. I know you’re a night person."

"You know me oh so well," Marceline said, flipping up right again and sitting on the window ledge. "Still studying?"

"Yeah I am." PB replied, sitting in the chair and swirling around to face her.

"I brought these."

Marceline handed her a bag of shortbread cookies.

"Thank you so much, I needed this." PB unraveled the plastic bag and bit into a cookie smiling from the satisfying taste.

"We haven't been hanging outside of school lately."

"Yeah."

"How's your mom feeling?"

PB shoved the rest of the cookie in her mouth. "She's doing better. Surgery was a success. That’s all im grateful for."

“I hope she rest well."

PB sighed, looking up at her ceiling again.

"It's stuffy in here." Marceline said, looking around her friend's room.

"Yeah it is." PB replied, looking at the zebra painting on her wall that was barely visible from the dim lighting.

"Let's get some fresh air."

PB look at her, putting her knees up to her chest.

"You mean..?"

"A nighttime drift."

"Marceline... it's 11 at night."

"I know. It won't be long. Studying too much isn't good."

"I know."

"Soo...let’s go! Promise it'll help!”

PB crack a smile. "Alright... let me get my sneakers."

Marceline smiled as she watched her shuffle in her closet quietly, pulling out her converses and a light sweater.

"How's your family?" PB asked.

"Good as usual. Ash is a getting better at learning in his preschool."

"That's good." PB replied, pulling the sweater over her head. The last she remembered was that Ash wasn't doing so well remembering his ABC’s.

"Aww aren't you cute~" Marceline said.

"I'm not cute, I'm tired."

"Sup tired."

"Whatever. Let's go."

Marceline exited the room along with PB, cracking her window to not lock herself out. She inhaled the crisp night air.

"Ah this feels nice."

"Told you." Marceline said, hovering off the ground, arms crossed.

"So which way are we walking?"

"Up."

"Up the block?"

"No."

Marceline lifted her up.

"Marcy?"

"I mean up."

Marceline began to float up, over the house roof.

"Marcy!"

They floated up higher. PB wrapped her arms around Marceline's waist.

"Marceline!!"

"It's okay."

PB now saw half the neighborhood.

"Oh my god, I hate you!"

"Why?"

"You know I hate heights!!"

PB closed her eyes, feeling the breeze sweep across her skin. She knew they were high up.

"Open your eyes."

PB opened them and looked down. They were way high in the air.

"Marceline!" She whined.

Marceline leaned, floating on her back and PB clung tightly, her arms wrapped around her neck.

"Not so tight!"

"Marceline... please put me down," PB mumbled into Marceline chest. “I hate this.”

"Look ... PB."

PB looked up at Marceline face, her body lying on top of hers.

"I'm not going to drop you."

She was reminded of elementary school ...

_"I won't ever hurt you."_

She never let did once lie.

"Look up."

PB looked up and gasped, eyes sparkling. Stars. Bright white dots sprinkled across the night sky, the one cloud above them a gray shadow in the moon light.

"Wow… its breathtaking.”

"It is."

She stared at the stars as if hypnotized. She felt she could reach out and touch it, even when she knew they were far away. She’s never been so high up, or so close. And she hadn’t even noticed them until now. The two made eye contact, their faces close but not too close. PB felt her face heat up and broke the contact, looking down and noticing her hair that glowed with stars.

"Marcy... your hair looks like a galaxy."

She remembered the day Marceline told her that she couldn't change into a bat anymore, since growing up meant evolving. Old traits develop into new, unique ones. Marceline’s unique trait was her hair. It mocked the pattern of the stars at night, and now flowed with a mixture of purple and blue.

"Yeah…I guess my trait blossomed earlier than expected." she chuckled, her hair spread out below them.

PB looked back up, wishing she brought a camera. But bringing a camera meant freeing a limb, and she wasn't doing that ever. She looked down. The houses were like small squares in segments.

"Don't look down Bonnie."

"I-I won't " she stammered.

"Sometimes it’s nice to have a new perspective."

It was blissful. Her heart started pounding, and she hoped Marceline wouldn’t notice.

"Okay," PB chuckled, laying her head down.  "I'll look into the galaxy."

 

* * *

  

They came back down around two in the morning, the neighborhood drowned in silence.

"I'm exhausted… I didn't think I was this tired." PB said, leaning against the window ledge inside her room.

"Now you know. Let's hang out more tomorrow?" Marceline suggested, her leg crossed over the other.

"Yeah." she replied. “It’s been a crazy two weeks.”

"Make sure you take care of yourself more. You hear?"

"Yeah yeah," PB chuckled sleepily. "Goodnight Marcy."

"Night Bonnie." she said.

PB closed her window, then went to click off her desk lamp. The moon was brighter than what she noticed before. Maybe the new perspective was much needed after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Chapter four will be posted soon.


	4. Sweet and Sour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 is high school era. introducing new characters that will be present in the series.
> 
> Chapter 4 and future chapters will all be high school era/ the AU present day.

   

* * *

 

Mondays were always a drag for anyone in public school, but PB always made the best of the dreaded weekday: By dressing her mood up. She stepped out the car, fixing her skirt and swinging her backpack over her shoulder.

“Are you staying after today?” 

“No not today,” she replied, making sure her skirt had zero wrinkles. Nathan leaned his arm outside the car, sunglasses covering his eyes. People passed by them in the parking lot, making their way to the brick building.

“Alright.”

“Drive safe.”

“Can do.”

 She waved bye to her brother and made her way into Wood stone High School. The hallways were crowded with students, all in their own categories; the jocks, the nerds, emo’s, artist; chatting away in their designated cliques, horse-playing or headed to their class. PB made her way through the crowd, the smell of perfume bursting in her nose with no invitation, the pictures of sports teams from different years hanging from the walls.

Upstairs the cold metal lockers stretched down a long hallway, lining the walls in the open area. There was more jostling on this floor today than usual; which would make it more of an effort to find her friends.

Her homeroom was down the right hall. She would usually stay in her class until stopped by to find her, if she didn't see her friends, but they were there.

“Hey guys!”

PB smiled at the blonde haired girl who closed her locker and the boy with a cap on, leaning against the blue lockers.

"PB!"

She was greeted by the girl’s tight hug and the boy’s warm smile.

"I don't want to be here today." Fiona sighed.

"Tell me about it. And it's super crowded today." Aiden replied.

"It's always crowded." PB replied

"Yeah but today is unusually crowded."

They walked to her homeroom to drop off her stuff and wandered the active halls. They found themselves squeezing past people, passing obnoxiously loud freshmen who itched to start trouble. In the middle of a conversation, a hand grabbed Adrien’s red cap, revealing his fiery- red brown hair.

"Hey!" Adrien yelled, turning around, his locks burning bright. "Dammit!"

A girl with similar fiery hair held the cap in the air, grinning with a blue and white letterman jersey on. She laughed, her friends all walking with her, going with the crowd. The football jocks, loud and proud, surrounding them.

"Sup PB! Fiona!"

"Hey Ethne!"

 The two girls both waved, Adrien frowning from the loss of his cap. One of Ethne’s guy friends jumped high to hit one of the school banisters displaying the school motto in big, bold letters.

“So, did any of you do the homework?” PB asked. Fiona and Aiden looked at each other.

“No I didn’t.” Aiden said, with a careless tone.

“I did less than half.” Fiona confessed.

“Aw c’mon guys I even typed notes for you!” PB exclaimed.

“I know PB! Please forgive mee~.” Fiona said, wrapping her arms around her.

“I did the homework and binge watched that show you’ve been talking about, so I can’t complain.” PB sighed.

“Aha!” Aiden said, pointing at her.

“You didn’t even do the homework!” PB and Fiona yelled.

“Idiot!” Fiona exclaimed.

PB and the two walked along, exchanging hellos and hugs to the people they knew in the halls. They finally walked across the main floor, an open space that led to the auditorium to the right of them and the snack bar for afternoons. It was the most crowded, with the popular girls standing around smacking gum, the boys around them riling themselves up over something unknown. The three continued walking down another hallway, Fiona spotting three other people they knew;

"They're here!" the girl said, hugging The two girls.

"Hey… PB…"

PB turned around to see Tiana and her group of four; Marceline's friends who have become acquainted with PB.

"Hey Tiana."

"Marceline isn't here yet? She's not hitting up my phone."

"She's probably sleeping or something," Fiona replied. "She's never on time."

She wasn’t wrong. Marceline was notorious for arriving a few minutes before the first period bell. PB remembered the texts exchanged from earlier that morning during breakfast:

 

* * *

 

_PB: I know you’ll b at school late, so I'll c you there._

 

_Marcy: I'll find ya b4 class. You'll b upstairs right?_

 

* * *

 

"She'll be here,” PB replied. "I remember her saying she owed you money."

"Yeah. Just let me know when she gets here." Tiana said, smiling.

"I will."

Tiana quickly looked PB up and down, walking away with her group.

"Marceline always hangs out with them?" Fiona asked, glaring as Tiana walked away. “I don’t like that Tina girl. She forced that smile toward you.”’

"I don’t think I did anything for her to dislike me.” PB replied.

"Speaking of Marceline, here comes the late soul." Adrien said.

Before PB could turn around, she felt an arm drape over her shoulders, and the fresh scent of lavender filled her nose. Marceline chewed on a piece of gum, her friend Jake beside her. The two girls have known him since the seventh grade when he moved into their neighborhood.

"Marceline, sup." Adrien said.

"Hey." She replied, raising her eyebrows and smiled.

"I am never waiting for you again, you're _always_  late." Jake said.

"I'm not always late."

"98 percent of the time you come at the last few minutes." PB said.

"Seriously?"

"Yes!" PB and Jake said at the same time. They laughed and chatted away, Marceline and Jake playfully kicking each other.

"Oh Tiana is looking for you." PB said, touching Marceline's hand.

"Ah shoot I meant to text her when I got here." she said, taking her phone out her leather jacket, the buckles clinking.

"Class starts in like five minutes," one of the guy friends said. "We're gonna peace out."

"I'll meet her after class," Marceline said to PB. "I'm tempted to skip."

"No, don't skip. You skipped last time."

"I don't do P.E. Bonnie."

"But you're good at it."

Two girls waked by, saying hi to Marceline and she greeted them back.

"I know. So are you."

"Hey PB."

PB looked to see who called her name and her heart skipped. She smiled shyly.

"H-hi Marshall."

He was a friend she knew sophomore year of high school, and her crush of two years. His childhood friend, Gabriel, stood next to him along with Finn, Gabriel's friend.

"How’s it goin?”

"Just, uh…hanging out until class starts. Ya know, stuff.” PB said, shrugging her shoulders.

“Marceline… looking good babe.”

“Screw off Finn.”

“Whoah, whoah,” Finn said, his hands up. He chuckled. “Why so sour?”

"Marceline and PB... sweet and sour.” Gabriel said, looking at Marceline.

Marceline gave them a blank stare, popping her gum. The two girls were nicknamed that. Marceline was more rough around the edges, while PB took on a sweet side Marceline never expressed.

"Hey, we got three minutes." Jake said, nudging Marceline. She took her arm back from PB's shoulders.

Adrien and Fiona said bye before leaving, along with the rest of their friends.

“I’ll see you around PB.”

“Yeah... See you.” PB said, tucking a lock of pink hair behind her ear. She tried her best to not show her face, which was mostly likely flushed cherry red.

The three boys took off, leaving the two girls behind.

"Are you still gonna ask her out?" Gabriel said.

"I don't know. I think there's someone already ahead of me on that one." Marshall said.

"Who? Marceline?" Gabriel said.

“There’s been rumors that they liked each other sophomore year, but that died quicker than it started.” Finn said.

"Yeah." Marshall replied.

Gabriel and Finn exchanged glances.

Behind them, Marceline and PB walked with Jake to their classes. When PB thought of Marshall, her heart floated on a cloud.

“PB, PB, innocent PB~” Jake sang. “Sweep him off his feet already, will ya?”

Marceline chuckled. “Easy for you to say. You got Raina.”

PB looking over her shoulders. She never thought she could. She never liked being shy around him all the time. Maybe a change wouldn’t be so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! future chapters are in progress
> 
> if you have any questions, feel free to ask!


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